Downpatrick Crown Court heard today (Thursday) that Parkinson was involved in two separate accidents on July 9, 2015.

A prosecutor said the first crash happened at 2.45 pm on the Milltown Road in Belfast. Motorist Patrick Murphy was sitting in his stationary vehicle with his wife when it was struck from the rear by Parkinson's red van.

Mr Murphy later told police that he approached Parkinson who he described as "not communicating with him''. The driver said he told Parkinson: "You are drunk''.

He said Parkinson's van then hit his car a further three times while his wife was still in the front passenger seat before driving off.

Mr Murphy was later treated in hospital for neck and back injuries while his wife was treated for pain to her shoulder blades.

Judge Piers Grant was told that just shortly after 3pm Parkinson's van was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle this time five miles away on Belfast's Saintfield Road near the Millennium Primary School.

The driver of that car, John Smyth said the red van came onto his side of the road after crossing double white lines on a dangerous bend and was travelling at speed.

In a statement to police, he said he told his wife at the time: "He is going to hit us. There was nowhere else for us to go."

Parkinson's van then smashed head-on into Mr Smyth's car and the force of the impact spun both vehicles around 180 degrees, the court was told.

The prosecution lawyer said that as a result of the crash, Mr Smyth's car was "Written off'' and he spent two weeks in hospital suffering from his injuries, which included a fracture to a vertebrae in his back and a fractured kneecap, was on crutches for two months and still has "ongoing back pain''.

The court heard a blood sample taken from Parkinson in hospital gave a reading of 235 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, almost three times the 80 micrograms legal limit.

When interviewed by police, Parkinson said he was a "member of Alcoholics Anonymous'' and had a "problem with alcohol'', hadn't taken a drink in five years but couldn't remember taking any alcohol that day.

The prosecutor added that there several aggravating factors, stating Parkinson was almost three times the drink drive limit, the prolonged period of "bad driving'', the injuries caused and he had left the scene of the first accident.

The court heard a further aggravating factor was that this was Parkinson's sixth drink driving offence since 1970.

Frank O'Donoghue QC, defending, told the court: "In relation to the offences, there is little of mitigation and plenty of aggravation.''

Speaking about Parkinson's criminal record, the defence counsel said: "At the heart of his bad driving is his alcohol addiction'', adding that he "found solace in alcohol'' following the death of his first wife when he was 34 leaving him to bring up their four children.

Mr O'Donoghue explained that on the day of the two accidents, Parkinson had gone to his son's house to collect money but tragically his son died in December 2015.

He said: "There is an abject and genuine remorse from this defendant for what happened. It is not a pitiful remorse. He is appalled at his conduct and also grateful nobody was killed.

"If you take the drink out of the man, he is a good man. If you give the man a drink....and you put him in a car... it is an absolute disaster.''

Saying that Parkinson had already handed in his driving licence, the defence QC said the defendant recognised he was "facing the prospect of prison", he urged the court that it may be a case of "highly exceptional circumstances'' which would not lead to an immediate period of custody.

Judge Piers Grant said he wanted a short period of time to consider the case and would pass sentence next week, adding: "He will be going into custody.''